Sept. 23, 1997

Terps Travel North to Play Temple of the BIG EAST Conference; First Ever Meeting Versus Owls

Barton Records Career-High 17 Tackles; Ogbogu Moves into Eighth Place All-Time in School History with 15.5 Quarterback Sacks

Maryland Terrapins (0-3, 0-2 ACC) at Temple Owls (1-3, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Saturday, September 27, 1997; 6:00 P.M.
Franklin Field/53,000
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"These first three games taught us who the big dogs are and where we need to go to get them."
Ron Vanderlinden
University of Maryland
September 20, 1997

TERPS TRAVEL NORTH OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE TO PLAY TEMPLE
Maryland travels north of the Mason-Dixon line for the first time since the final game of the 1994 season (when it played at Syracuse) to face the Owls of Temple University. Tonight's contest marks the first between the Terps and the Owls and Maryland's first versus a Big East Team since its November 19, 1994 game at Syracuse. Maryland has played every team that currently makes up the Big East conference with the exception of Temple. The Terps' all-time record against current Big East schools is 60-58-4 (.508). Temple is the first of two Big East teams the Terps will face this season. Maryland will play host to West Virginia on October 11. The last time the Terps played two Big East conference schools in one season was 1994; West Virginia and Syracuse.

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM
Maryland will play Temple tonight in the city of Philadelphia at Franklin Field. It marks the Terps first return to the city and the historic stadium since playing Penn in 1941.

HISTORIC FIRSTS AT FRANKLIN FIELD
Franklin Field originally opened in 1895 (at a cost of $100,000) for the first running of the Penn Relays. The stadium was rebuilt 75 years ago. The field, deemed the oldest stadium still operating for football games by the NCAA, was the site of the nation's first scoreboard (1895), the nation's first two-tiered stadium (1922), the first football radio broadcast (WIP, 1922), the first football telecast (Maryland vs. Penn., Oct., 5, 1940) and Vince Lombardi's only NFL playoff loss.

VANDERLINDEN AND DICKERSON
Maryland's Ron Vanderlinden and Temple's Ron Dickerson worked together as assistant coaches at the University of Colorado from 1983-84. Vanderlinden joined Bill McCartney's staff in Boulder in 1983 while Dickerson worked for the Buffaloes' program from 1982-84.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES
Maryland's Ron Vanderlinden was a member of the coaching staff of the 1990 National Champion University of Colorado while Temple's Ron Dickerson was a member of the coaching staff at Penn State when the Nittany Lions won the 1987 National Championship.

THE FIRST COMMERCIALLY TELEVISED GAME
The first regularly scheduled, commercial television production of a college football game came 57 years ago on October 5, 1940 as the Terps traveled to Franklin Field to play Pennsylvania. Legendary Jack Faber was Maryland's head coach. The game was telecast with two cameras with telescopic lenses and two announcers. The signal was first fed through a production unit that selected the best action to be transmitted to television sets in Philadelphia and Reading, Pa.

TERPS ON ASTROTURF
Maryland will play on Astroturf tonight versus Temple for the first time since September 28, 1996 when the Terps played West Virginia at Mountaineer Field. Maryland's most recent victory on an Astroturf field was on September 17, 1994 when the Terps defeated the Mountaineers, 24-13, at Mountaineer Field. It is the only time the Terps will play on Astroturf this season.

BARTON RECORDS CAREER-HIGH 17 TACKLES AGAINST N. CAROLINA
Junior linebacker Eric Barton recorded a career-high 17 tackles to lead the Terps defense against North Carolina. He was credited with a career-high 11 solo stops, six assists, one pass break up and three quarterback hurries. Barton, an Honorable Mention All-ACC Selection in 1996, is looking to lead the Terps in tackles for the second consecutive season.

CUMMINGS CONTINUES TO FIND MARYLAND TARGETS
Senior quarterback Brian Cummings tied his personal consecutive game streak of two games without throwing an interception when he found nothing but Terp receivers against North Carolina. Cummings has thrown 40 consecutive passes and gone nine consecutive quarters without having thrown an interception. That streak dates back to the third quarter of Maryland's season opening game against Ohio. It marks his longest streak since he threw 82 passes without an interception against West Virginia, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson during the 1995 season.

CUMMINGS FREQUENTLY ON TARGET
Senior quarterback Brian Cummings has completed at least 63 percent of his pass attempts in each of the three Maryland games so far this season. His 65.5 percent (36/55) completion rate ranks as his best start after the first three games during his three-year career. He has now completed 60 percent or more of his passes in five of his last seven games. During that stretch, he owns a completion percentage of 60.7 (88/145).

UNDERWOOD BECOMES 19TH TERP TO SURPASS 1,000 YARDS
Redshirt senior running back Brian Underwood gained 63 yards on 16 attempts against North Carolina to surpass the 1,000 career yard mark. He became only the 19th runner in school history to surpass the mark and enters tonight's game versus Temple needing only 87 yards to move into 18th-place on the school's all-time career rushing yardage list.

IT HAPPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME VERSUS NORTH CAROLINA...
...Redshirt sophomore Peter Timmins caught his first career pass;
...True freshman Jason Hatala caught his first career pass;
...Redshirt freshman Omar Cheeseboro returned his first career kickoff;
...True freshman Kris Jenkins recorded his first career tackle for minus yards;
...Redshirt sophomore Paul Jackson recorded his first career fumble recovery;
...True freshman Lamont Jordan attempted his first career pass.

SANDERS TAKES IT TO THE HOUSE
True sophomore Lewis Sanders became the first Terp player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Geroy Simon brought one all the way back versus N.C. State on November 5, 1994. It marked only the third time since the 1981 season and the seventh time since 1975 that a Terp player had returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Sanders' return was for 90 yards.

KICKOFF RETURNS FOR TOUCHDOWNS
Yards   Player           Opponent     Date
   98   Steve Atkins     N.C. State   Oct., 7, 1978
   96   Ricky Jennings   N.C. State   Oct. 11, 1975
   94   Geroy Simon      N.C. State   Nov. 5, 1994
   93   Ricky Jennings   Kentucky     Sept. 27, 1975
   92   Tim Quander      Duke         Oct. 24, 1981
   92   John Shultz      Clemson      Nov. 15, 1975
   90   Lewis Sanders    N. Carolina  Sept. 20, 1997

TERPS SHOW IMPROVEMENT IN RUSHING DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
After allowing 256 rushing yards against Ohio's option offense in the season opener, Maryland has limited Florida State (98 yards) and North Carolina (63 yards) to a total of 161 total combined rushing yards. The Terps' front seven allowed the then-No. 5 ranked Seminoles only 98 yards on 30 attempts (3.3 yards per carry) and held the Tar Heels to 63 yards on 27 carries (2.2 yards per carry).

TERPS RUSHING DEFENSE IN 1997
Maryland's defense has cut its opponents rushing average per play nearly in half over the last two games. The Terps allowed a season-high 4.6 rushing yards per attempt against Ohio in the season opener but have since allowed 2.7 yards per attempt in the last two games.

             Ohio    vs. FSU/UNC Improvement
Attempts      56          59
Yards        256         161
Yds/Att       4.6          2.7   -1.9 Yds./Att.
Yds/Game    256.0         80.5   -175.5 Yds./Game

TERPS RUNNING BACKS HOLDING ON TO THE BALL
The first fumble by a Maryland player during the Ron Vanderlinden era came nearly six minutes into the second quarter the third game of the season. The Terps went nearly 141 minutes without a fumble before the miscue against the Tar Heels. The Terps accumulated 54 carries before fumbling the football.

CUMMINGS CONTINUES TO SHOOT UP ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE CHART
Senior co-captain Brian Cummings has completed at least 63 percent of his passes in each of his three games this season. His 65.5 percent completion rate has moved him into seventh-place all-time at Maryland.

TERPS TOP CAREER COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
Senior co-captain Brian Cummings enters tonight's game versus Temple in seventh place on Maryland's all-time pass completion list.

Rank  Rate   Comp./Att.  Player, Years
 1.  .6623     261/394   Bob Avellini, 1972-74
 2.  .6619     650/982   Scott Milanovich, 1992-95
 3.  .629      132/210   Frank Reich, 1983-84
 4.  .5882     180/306   Larry Dick, 1975-77
     .5881     387/658   Neil O'Donnell, 1987-89
 6.  .582      127/218   Dale Betty, 1958-60
 7.  .573      226/394   Brian Cummings, 1994-Present
 8.  .571       52/91    Ben Kinard, 1973-74
 9.  .569      305/537   John Kaleo, 1991-92
10.  .553      251/454   Stan Gelbaugh, 1981-85

JAMES RETURNS TO RECEIVER ROTATION
Redshirt junior wide receiver Bruce James was the Terps' leading receiver against North Carolina as he tied his career-high with four receptions for 37 yards. He has now caught four passes in a game three times; most recently against Duke on September 23, 1995. James has now caught 41 passes for 440 career yards for an average of 10.7 yards per game.

CRUZEN' WITH MOISES
Redshirt freshman Moises Cruz caught four passes for 37 yards to bring his three-game season totals to 10 catches for 128 yards. He begins tonight's game versus Temple as Maryland's leading receiver with a 42.7 yards per game average and a 12.8 yards per reception average.

CRUZ BEGINS TO POSITION HIMSELF AS A TOP FRESHMAN RECEIVER
Redshirt freshman Moises Cruz begins tonight's game with 10 catches for 128 yards. He has already become only the 16th freshman in school history to amass at least 10 receptions in a season and is one of only 16 freshman to have gained 100 or more yards in receptions during his first season. The school records for freshman receivers are 58 catches and 509 yards by Frank Wycheck in 1990. Wycheck currently plays for the Tennessee Oilers of the NFL.

FRESHMAN CAREER RECEPTIONS
Rank  Player, Year          Receptions  Cruz Needs to Pass
 1.   Frank Wycheck, 1990           58                 +49
10.   Sean Sullivan, 1983           15                  +6
13.   Chad Wiestling, 1990          13                  +4
      Walt Williams, 1993           13                  +4
      Brian Underwood, 1994         13                  +4
      Troy Davidson, 1996           13                  +4
14.   Jermaine Stewart              11                  +2
15.   Moises Cruz, 1997             10

FRESHMAN CAREER RECEPTION YARDS
Rank  Player, Year          Recp./Yards Cruz Needs to Pass
 1.   Frank Wycheck, 1990           509               +382
10.   Sean Sullivan, 1983           217                +90
11.   Geory Simon, 1993             194                +67
12.   Troy Davidson, 1996           177                +50
13.   Mosies Cruz, 1997             128

EDWARDS CAREER NUMBERS KICKING UPWARDS
Redshirt junior Russell Edwards enters tonight's game versus Temple with a 39.6 yards per punt average through the first three games of the season. He has 106 career punts for a career punting average of 37.1 yards per punt. Edwards is averaging three more yards per punt this season than he had during his first two seasons.

Years   Punts   Yards   Average
1995-96    89   3,253      36.6
1997       17     673      39.6
Career    106   3,926      37.1

EDWARDS JOINS TERPS ALL-TIME TOP 10
Redshirt junior punter Russell Edwards punted eight times against North Carolina to bring his career total to 106. His 106 punts ties him for 10th all-time at the University of Maryland. Dan DeArmas (1988-91) is the career leader with 268 career punts.

CAREER PUNTS
Rank  Player, Years                 Punts    Edwards Needs to Pass
 1.   Dan DeArmas, 1988-91            268                     +162
 8.   Alan Sadler, 1982-83            132                     +127
 9.   Gary Collins, 1959-61           113                       +8
10.   Phil Wagenheim, 1973-74         106                       +1
      Russell Edwards, 1995-Present   106  

RODGERS NAMED TO DOAK WALKER AWARD LIST
Senior tailback Buddy Rodgers, who has accumulated 117 all-purpose yards and one touchdown in the first two games of the season (66 rushing/32 receiving/19 kickoff return yards) is a candidate for the Dr. Pepper/Doak Walker Award. The Doak Walker Award was created in 1989 by a partnership of Southern Methodist University and GTE to recognize and celebrate the goodness in college athletics. The partnership established the Doak Walker Award, "The National Running Back Award." In 1996, Dr. Pepper joined SMU and GTE in the partnership.

CUMMINGS, E. HICKS AND OGBOGU NAMED AS CAPTAINS
Seniors Brian Cummings, Eric Hicks and Eric Ogbogu were chosen by their teammates to serve as captains for the 1997 season. The captains were selected Friday, August 29. Cummings is a starter for the third consecutive season at quarterback, while Hicks and Ogbogu have been mainstays on the defensive line since their arrival together in 1994.

BRIAN CUMMINGS AS THE TERPS' STARTING QUARTERBACK
1995
Sept.  2  Tulane        W, 29-10
Sept.  9  N. Carolina   W, 32-18
Sept. 16  W. Virginia   W, 31-17
Sept. 23  Duke          W, 41-28
Oct.  21  Clemson       L, 0-17
Oct.  28  at L'Ville    L, 0-31
1996
Aug.  31  N. Illinois   W, 30-6
Sept.  7  Ala.-Birm.    W, 39-15
Sept. 14  at Virginia   L, 3-21
Oct.  12  at N. Car.    L, 7-38
Oct.  19  Wake For.     W, 52-0
Nov.   2  at Clemson    L, 3-35
Nov.  14  Ga. Tech      W, 13-10
Nov.  23  at Fl. State  L, 10-48
1997
Sept.  6  Ohio          L, 14-21
Sept. 13  at Fl. State  L, 7-50
Sept. 20  N. Car.       L, 14-40

44 BOWLS AND 3 SUPER BOWLS
Ron Vanderlinden and his staff have participated as coaches or players in 44 collegiate bowl games and three super bowls.

Defensive line coach Rubin Carter played in SB XXI and XII and coached in SB XXII with the Denver Broncos.

RODGERS' RANKINGS
Senior Buddy Rodgers, a Doak Walker Award candidate as the nation's top running back, is one of the most prolific running backs in school history.

Rank    Category         Career Total
6th     Rushing Touchdowns        17
10th    Yards Per Attempt       4.21
11th    Rushing Attempts         323
13th    Rushing Yards          1,361

EDWARDS THE PASSER
Punter Russell Edwards's 17-yard pass to Peter Timmins in the first quarter was Maryland's first completed pass by a non-quarterback since running back Buddy Rodgers completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mancel Johnson against North Carolina on September 9, 1995 in Byrd Stadium.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Buddy Rodgers, a Doak Walker Award candidate as the nation's top running back, needs only 15 yards to surpass Tommy Neal and become the 12th all-time leading career rusher in school history. In addition, he is in striking distance of becoming a member of the school's top-10 list.

Rank    Player, Year            Yards   Rodgers Needs
10th    Art Seymore, 1970-72    1,656           + 301
11th    Bren Lowrey, 1986-89    1,636           + 281
12th    Tommy Neal, 1983-86     1,375            + 15

OGLE ON BUTKUS AWARD WATCH LIST
Redshirt junior linebacker Kendall Ogle, who has recorded 36 tackles in the first three games of the season (14 against Ohio, 13 against Florida State and nine against North Carolina), is a candidate for the Butkus Award. Ogle recorded a career-high 75 tackles in 1996 and was recently named as the 18th-best linebacker in the nation by Lindy's Magazine. His 75 stops last season placed him third on the team and he recorded a career-best 14 tackles against West Virginia. Ogle is one of 52 players named to the initial watch list for the Butkus Award presented annually by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. to the nation's outstanding collegiate linebacker. The list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on October 16 and three finalists will be named on November 13. The winner will be announced on December 13 in Orlando.

TERPS ON THE AIR
All Maryland games are heard on the Learfield/Maryland Radio Network. Johnny Holliday, in his 19th season as the Voice of the Terps, handles the play-by-play while Ken Broo joins the broadcast team this season as the color analyst. WBAL (1090-AM) serves as the flagship station for the 12-station network. The Terps can be heard on WJFK - FM (106.7) in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

RON VANDERLINDEN'S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Head Coach Ron Vanderlinden will meet the media each Monday at Noon on the second floor of the Tyser Tower Press Box.

ACC COACHES TELECONFERENCE
Ron Vanderlinden will be among the nine ACC coaches featured on the weekly teleconference each Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Coach Vanderlinden can be heard from 11:40-11:50. Each coach will make an opening statement and take questions during the 10 minute period. The number for media access only is (212) 547-0297.

TERP GAMES ON TEAMLINE
Maryland fans can hear the live play-by-play of all 11 Terp games this season from any telephone in the world on TEAMLINE. Fans in the United States can dial 1-800-846-4700 and enter the Maryland Terrapins team code 5517 to access the games with a Visa or Mastercard.

TERPS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
All of the latest and most up-to date information on every aspect of Maryland athletics can be found on the World Wide Web at www.umterps.com. Net users can find the latest information of each of Maryland's 24 athletic teams, purchase tickets to upcoming events and find information on many other aspects of the Department of Athletics at Maryland.

RON VANDERLINDEN ON MARYLAND'S RADIO SPORTSLINE
John Wagner, University System Radio-TV Director, provides actualities and interviews for radio with Maryland football coach Ron Vanderlinden. Stations can access these sound bites by calling the Sportsline at (301) 779-6397.

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